That pretty much sums up the fate of anyone who gets between Sam Fisher and his goals in “Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist,” an ultra-sleek black-op adventure from UbiSoft.

Fisher is back and has been tasked with taking down a group of terrorists called The Engineers who are intent on bending American foreign policy to their will through a series of bloody attacks, which the terrorists call the Blacklist.

This new game features a darker Fisher than seen in previous games. His grim determination is violently single-minded and is illustrated beautifully through taut game pay and a realism-obsessed story.

Some fans may be disappointed that actor Michael Ironside no longer voices Clancy's legendary character, but Eric Johnson does not hold back and delivers a strong performance to make Fisher his own.

Voice acting from the game's supporting cast is also strong and very much complements the game's amazing animations. The graphics are detailed to the point that you can almost pick out individual hairs in Fisher's stubble.

Despite dark themes and dreary realism in the game's story, the visuals are bright and vibrant, even in the shadows. And you will spend plenty of time in those shadows as you hunt your way through mission after mission with ghost-like actions.

Combat in this third-person shooter is just as detailed as the visuals are. Enemy AI is deft, trigger-happy and tough. Aiming requires a light touch, and patience will serve you well in your play. In previous games, blasting away was not recommended. Now you have options.

Either in the campaign or secondary missions, you can choose between three styles of play. How well you play that role in the mission helps determine how much money you earn in the mission.

This money can be used to upgrade your character, gadgetry, weapons and base of operations, which is a huge flying fortress called Paladin.

The play styles are Ghost, Panther and Assault. In Ghost you use non-lethal means to take down foes or bypass them altogether. In Panther you hunt enemies and must kill them quickly while remaining undetected. Then there is Assault; in this style you shoot your way through the mission with big guns and bigger explosives.

Either way, taking out foes leads to a new combat function in the series called “Killing in Motion.”

When this motion meter fills, you have the ability to mark several targets and at the press of a button the game takes over and takes out the enemies in one swift animation.

In addition to co-op missions, there is also a vibrant multiplayer with five game modes. The main focus of multiplayer is the Spies vs. Mercs concept. Multiplayer games featuring two, two-four man teams, with one team assuming the role of spies and the other mercs. Spies are given stealth bonuses and options while mercs are more traditional combat fighters, with an emphasis on dealing out damage.

Then there is the controversy over the torture of a terrorist in Guantanamo Bay.

It is nothing close to what was shown in “Zero Dark Thirty,” and even there I couldn't care less what happened to those bags of offal. In the game Fisher breaks into the Guantanamo prison and slaps around an asset to get information on the next Blacklist terror attack. While you have no control during this scene, once finished you are given the option of killing or sparing him.

This new Splinter Cell is not the best game in the series, but it is certainly one of the best games this year.